Driver Improvement Points System
Current Traffic Police thresholds for probationary revocation and non-probationary suspension under DIPS, as published on the live SPF page.
Primary source: https://www.police.gov.sg/Knowledge-Hub/Traffic/Traffic-Matters/Driver-Improvement-Point-Systems
The Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) is Singapore’s demerit-point regime for valid Singapore driving-licence holders. Traffic Police describe it as a system of rewards and punishments meant to identify and rehabilitate errant drivers (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
Depending on the severity of the traffic offence, the licence holder may accumulate anywhere from 3 to 12 demerit points and be offered a composition fine. If the offence is more severe, the holder may accumulate more than 12 demerit points and/or be prosecuted in court, with harsher penalties such as heavier fines, imprisonment, and/or disqualification of the driving licence (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
This article records the thresholds on that live SPF page. It does not guess offence-by-offence point values, and it does not treat newspaper reports of future changes as current law.
New or probationary licence holders
New licence holders are under a one-year probation from the issued date of their driving licence. During that period, the driving licence will be revoked and invalid if the new licence holder accumulates 13 or more demerit points (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
Non-probationary licence holders
Non-probationary licence holders become liable for suspension if they accumulate a threshold of demerit points within a stated period. If the suspension is 1 year or more, the driving licence will be revoked and invalid (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
Traffic Police publish this table:
| Number of suspension | Threshold | Suspension duration | After successful DIPS retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | ≥ 24 demerit points within 24 months | 12 weeks | Reduced to 4 weeks (may be reduced to 1 week if offences are not accident-related) |
| 2nd | ≥ 12 demerit points within 12 months | 24 weeks | Reduced to 12 weeks |
| 3rd | 1 year | — | |
| 4th | 2 years | — | |
| 5th | 3 years | — | |
| 6th | 4 years | — | |
| 7th | 5 years | — |
(SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems)
The 3rd-to-7th rows on the live page state a duration but do not restate a points threshold in the same cells. Do not fill those cells from memory.
Announced changes from 1 January 2027
Traffic Police announced that from 1 January 2027 the first suspension threshold for non-probationary motorists will be 18 demerit points within 24 months, instead of 24, and the probationary revocation threshold will be 12 points, instead of 13 (SPF, Tightening of DIPS). The announcement also describes a one-time deduction on 1 January 2027 of up to 6 points for non-probationary motorists and 1 point for probationary motorists, subject to its stated transition rules (SPF, Tightening of DIPS). These are announced future rules; the current live DIPS table above remains the current-threshold reference until the announced effective date.
Notice and incentives
Licence holders are notified by letter of their demerit-points status after they settle every offence where demerit points are awarded (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
Previous demerit points are removed from the record if the holder does not commit any traffic offences within a 12-month period from the date of their last traffic offence (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
Previous driving suspension(s) are removed from the record if the holder does not commit any traffic offences within a 24-month period from the date of their last suspension (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
A vehicle owner who holds a valid Singapore driving licence with a clean driving record for a continuous period of 3 years, and who has not made any claims on the vehicle’s insurance for the past 3 years, enjoys a discount over and above the no-claim bonus when renewing with participating insurers (SPF, Driver Improvement Point Systems).
Coverage debt
- Offence-by-offence demerit points from the DIPS Rules Schedule are now in a separate vault article; the live SPF “Penalties for Traffic Offences” HTML composition table was still not copied here.
- The live DIPS page still displays the current thresholds; the announced 2027 changes are recorded above from the separate SPF release.